Grantham, PA – No. 20 Messiah College tied their season-high with 12 three-pointers and held on late for a narrow 79-76 win over Lycoming College to remain unbeaten at 11-0. Aaron DeVan posted a career-high 21 points on 6-10 shooting, hitting four of six attempts from downtown. With the victory, Messiah also moves to 5-0 in the Commonwealth Conference.
 
The Falcons led by as many as 19 points (42-23 with 2:21 left in the first-half) on the night but saw a 17-point second-half advantage disappear entirely with just two minutes to play. Kevin Anthony (24 points) led Warriors' charge back into the game while Lycoming capitalized on the Falcons' sloppy play; the Warriors scored 22 second-half points off Messiah turnovers.
 
With the game tied at 71-71 with less than two minutes to play, DeVan scored his final field goal of the night with a go-ahead tip-in off a missed Messiah three-pointer. After a missed shot by the Warriors' Michael Rudy, Brad Bolen hit two free-throws to push Messiah's lead to 75-71.
 
Anthony cut the Lycoming deficit in half with a quick two off a curling cut from the top of the key, with the Warriors then calling their final timeout. Now with less than 10 seconds to play, DeVan was fouled and sent to the line where he hit a pair. The four-point lead proved valuable as Rudy nailed a three-pointer with four seconds remaining. But after Bolen hit two more free-throws, Rudy's final attempt from long distance fell short at the buzzer.
 
With Messiah taking the narrow victory, it's possible to forget they had built such an early advantage. The Falcons went 10-16 from three-point range in the first half, hitting three of those buckets in a 52-second span to turn a 13-9 deficit into an 18-13 lead at the 11:13 mark. DeVan hit three of his triples in short span as well; back-to-back threes with under nine minutes to play to put Messiah up 26-17. Moments later, another shot from deep put Messiah up 31-19 with 6:43 to play.
 
In total, DeVan (three), Brad Bolen (two), Taylor Groff (three), and Zac Hoy (two) combined for the Falcons' 10 made three-pointers before the break.
 
But even though they led 43-26 at the half, Messiah was unable to put Lycoming away. They committed 12 turnovers in the second-half—all while the Warriors were chipping away at their deficit. The Falcons' final turnover at the 2:49 mark led to a three-pointer by Rob Pillow and, after a missed shot by Messiah, Lycoming tied the game on a layup by Malcolm Covington with 2:05 on the clock.
 
But, as mentioned, Messiah regained control and made good on their free-throw attempts to put the game away; on the night, the Falcons shot an impressive 15-18 (83.3%) from the line.
 
Anthony shot 7-8 from the field and 10-15 from the line for his 24 points. Covington collected a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists while Rudy scored 13 points. The duo shot a combined 8-31 from the field, however, contributing to Lycoming's 39.3% shooting for the game.
 
For Messiah, five players scored in double-figures. DeVan was followed by Groff (18 points), David Fernandez (15), Brad Bolen (12), and Hoy (11). As a team Messiah shot 46.4% from the field.
 
The Falcons will look to keep their win streak in tact this weekend when they host Alvernia College in another Commonwealth showdown. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium.